David had married Saul’s daughter, Michal, and she also helped him escape from her father’s men. Most importantly of all, David had God on his side and by his Holy Spirit intervened to prevent Saul from capturing David and carrying out his intention to kill him. For the next few years David was hounded by Saul so that he had to hide in the hills and caves with faithful followers and to move from place to place to avoid traitors and to escape from Saul’s men who searched for him throughout the land.
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King Saul had a son named Jonathan whom his father expected to succeed him on the throne but Israel was a theocracy and God had decreed that David would become king instead. Jonathan and David were close friends, and Jonathan’s brotherly love for David was so great that he was content that his place as heir to the throne should be taken by David. But this was not the attitude of his father, Saul, who was determined to kill David. At first Saul tried surreptitious methods to kill him, such as placing him in dangerous positions in battle so that Saul could claim he was innocent of David’s death, but all these attempts failed. His intentions then became more obvious and his attempts more open but Jonathan took David’s part and did all he could to save him. Jonathan is an excellent example of a man free from envy, prepared to take a lower position in life in accordance with God’s will and to rejoice at the exaltation of another, and the love he had for David is the love we should have for Jesus, David’s greater son.